A SuperGal Holiday in a Nutshell
by SweetnLowGirl77
Summary: 1st up, Christmas! It's adorable loveydovey kawaiiness for the holidays! Full summary inside! all cannon couples, FYI
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the first time I'm doing a Gals fanfic, but I love the series so much so I just had to do it! I'm in the middle of a full length fanfiction, but this is just a cute little dibit for the holidays! This story is 90 AyaXRei fluffyness, 10 other couples, and 100 kawaii fun! I hope you all like it! **

**NOTE: This is an ongoing holiday year-round fanfiction, so if one chapter switches from Christmas to New Years to Valentines Day, don't be surprised. **

**A SuperGal Holiday in a Nutshell!**

**1****st**** Street: Super Friends Invited+Feast Disaster-- ****A Very Hoshino Christmas!**

**Summary: It is Christmas time in Shibuya, and Aya's family is coming over expecting a delicious Christmas Eve dinner. But when a stray orange cat runs in and ruins everything, SuperGal Kotobuki Ran and the others come to the rescue and help Aya save dinner before her family comes back from the airport. But when the gang is offered to stay for the party, it's not just the roast that gets overcooked. Introducing Takato Katsuragi, Aya's trouble-making (and oh so hot) cousin who's into ruining the fun for everyone. It's a hilarious kawaii fanfic for the holidays! **

**Pairings: RanXTatsuki, MiyuXYamato, AyaXRei, and MamiXYuya (obviously all canon couples). **

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN GALS! I ONLY OWN THIS STORY!!!!!!!!!**

iru iru iru iru iru iru iru!

"Are you sure you'll be okay here by yourself for a couple of hours while we're gone, sweetie?"

Aya was sitting at her kitchen table sipping a cup of hot cocoa with approximately four marshmallow minis (her favorite number!) It was Christmas Eve morning, and both her mother and father had to leave to pick up visiting family members from the airport. She was very excited, but also very exhausted. Every Christmas the Hoshino family worked extremely hard to make the perfect Christmas experience. That meant putting up trees (yes, not just one tree, but _three_), decorations, caroling, Christmas cards, Secret Santa's, and even a five star Christmas dinner that spent 27 hours making. All of that only got her four hours of sleep (that's not such a great number when it comes to sleeping time). She put an excessive amount of face cover up on, but she still couldn't hide the gigantic bags under her eyes.

"Don't worry, Mom, everything in this house will remain perfect. All I ask is that I can take a little time off to catch up with Ran and the others." She said that part a little slow because she knew how her father felt about getting too obsessed with those "wild cats" she called her friends. Her mother, on the other hand, warmed up to the idea and finally realized how wonderful it was that her little girl obtained true friends; that's why pitching the idea to her mom first gave her a 20 more likely chance to not get rejected.

Her mother made sure she put all of the relatives' holiday cards in her purse. "Uh…I don't know cupcake. Now where did I put the card for Great Grandma Rumi?"

Aya pouted. "But mom, I've been working awfully hard, and I haven't seen them all for days. I think I deserve a little leisure time, don't you?"

"No!" yelled her mother.

"Mom!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry dearest, not you. I can't believe I lost Great Grand's card! I know I left it right here on the counter."

Aya was relieved and took another sip of her cocoa (which wasn't that hot anymore). "Oh, if you're talking about that pink envelope I put it in the filing cabinet next to daddy's old college rejection letters."

Mrs. Hoshino glowed and ran to the cabinet next to their hallway closet. "Aya, pumpkin, remember to never speak of those letters to your father. You know how many bad memories they bring up."

_Then why does he keep them, _Aya sweat-dropped.

Anyway, back to the main topic.

"Anyway, honeybunch, I agree with you, but you know your father makes the final decisions around here, and that it'll be pretty hard to get his approval."

"Ugh, I know." _But maybe if I beg and beg and plead and plead and grovel and grovel he'll cave in! After all, it always seems to work for Ran. And if that doesn't help, I'll show him my grades from this semester; that always warms his heart!_

Aya then drifted off to her vision of her father excepting her proposal.

dreamy land

"_Oh, daddy-kins, I've worked awfully hard helping prepare Christmas decorations, our three Christmas trees, and family dinner. Being that I'm your number one little girl, I was hoping that you would consider letting me spend a couple of measly hours with my friends before the relatives get here. May I remind you of the straight 5's I've gotten on our last grade report?" _

"_Oh, sweetie-kins, how can I say no to you? I love you and your obnoxious friends. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"_

actual reality

"No! No! No! No! No!"

Aya and her mother were now outside on the corner while her father was turning on the car engine inside the car. She was talking to him through the window, and she seemed a little distressed.

"But daddy, I don't mean to sound rude but that's totally not fair! I've obeyed your rules and came directly home everyday for the past week and a half to prepare the house, and after all I did, along with attending cram school, I still can't spend a couple of hours with my friends?"

Mr. Hoshino lifted up his glasses with his index finger while still holding on to the steering wheel (hands at 10 and 2!). "How you can still consider yourself friends with those Shibuya Wild Cats is beyond me, along with that b—b---boy---"

"Boyfriend, daddy?"

"—Yes, that boy—person of yours… We've finally gotten some family time and here you go again, sabotaging it. I know you've been friends with these people for a long time now (3 years to be exact), but I still don't expect you to lose sight of your family."

"You know very well, Daddy, that that can never happen. Nothing can ever make me stop loving my family, but I love my friends, too, and I'm happy when I'm around them. And besides, I thought you said you liked Otohata-kun?"

"I said he seems like a decent boy with a good head on his shoulders. I said nothing about accepting him as your boy—person."

"Oh, Daddy, this is all I ask! Pleeeeaaassseeeeeeee?"

"Honey," called Mrs. Hoshino from the other side of the car, "if you don't answer her soon we'll be behind on our schedule and we'll get caught up in morning traffic."

"Darn it!" cursed Mr. Hoshino. There's nothing he hated more than getting stuck in traffic—his mortal enemy. He turned to Aya. "I guess you'll stand here and plead until I cave in, am I correct?"

"Uhuh!"

Mr. Hoshino left out a deep sigh. "Since when did you get so persistent? Oh, well, I guess I have no choice. You…can go, but you better be in this house hooligan-free by the time we get back, do you understand young lady?"

Aya glowed and glomped her father. "Oh, yes, Daddy, I completely understand. Thank you so much!!!!!!!"

Aya waved good-bye to her parents as they drove away. She definitely had to thank Ran for teaching her this "parental pleading" thing. She clicked her bunny slippers together, and she ran back in her house and up the stairs to her room to get dressed.

AYA PARA PARA BREAK!

"Hm…I can just go simple and wear this green mini hoodie or my laced blue blouse…" Aya was rummaging through her closet looking for something to wear. She knew Ran was going to call her any minute to confirm their day.

"Hey!" Aya spied a creamy colored sweater hidden in the back of her closet. The sleeves were cuffed with maroon colored stitching. "This looks cute…"

She plopped it over her head but found out that the collar was way too big and drooped down, exposing her shoulders. "Oops… This is a minor setback."

She inspected all over her room to find a solution. Luckily a red tank top that was folded neatly on her dresser caught her eye. Shaking out the creases, she modeled it in her mirror and decided it would look perfect under the cream sweater.

She blushed. "Otohata-kun always said red was an interesting color on me…that it made me stand out. Oh, I can't wait for this day to begin!"

While getting dressed, Aya heard the fast pace, polyphonic para-para ring tone Ran forced her to spend 300 yen buying for her cell. She rushed for her phone and giggled to herself when she read the caller id.

_Speaking of the number one gal…_

"Hello?" answered Aya.

"_Hey Aya, watsup? Are we still on for our super duper Eve-y day of fun? _

"You bet, Ran, I'm getting ready now. What are you doing?"

"_Retarded math. On Christmas Eve, I know, what a trip, right? But this morning I got a call from Naka-teach saying that passing this exam after Christmas break is the only way of me not taking tutoring classes next semester. And what's worse is that if my grades keep going the way they are now, I'll fail this year and I'll have to stay behind!"_

Aya could swear she heard the sound of chomping teeth through the phone. "On our fourth year? That's really tough, Ran. Say, are you eating something?"

"_Crapes, you bet! Anyway, I'm like uber pissed. Naka-teach can be such an ass-munch sometimes!" _

"Oh, Ran, where's your holiday spirit?"

"_How's this for holiday spirit? (Starts singing)_

_Jingle Bells, Naka-teach smells_

'_Cause he won't raise my grade_

_So I'll have to sit here for fifty more years _

_And I'll para para on his grave, yeah!"_

"Oh, Ran, that's a horrible song!"

"_Awesome right, it just came to the top of my head!"_

"So you do know I can't spend the whole day with you guys, though, right? Remember my relatives are coming over."

"_Oh, crap, that's right! That's major depressing news. Who are all these relatives that are taking our Aya away from us for a whole day anyway?"_

"Well, there's my Great Grandmother Rumiko, or Rumi for short, there's my aunt Kira and uncle Gojyo (or Uncle Jo for short), there's the twins, Hitomi and Hitoshi—they belong to Kira and Jo, and they're identical, too—there's Grandfather Mikoto—he's on my dad's side and owns the family shrine in Hiroshima—there's cousin Lani—she's Kira and Jo's eldest daughter—there's—"

"_So, long story short, you have the whole Family Express coming."_

"Only about ten more…"

"_Whoa, girl, I don't think I'd be able to handle all of that drama-waiting-to-happen; sucks for you."_

Aya sweat-dropped. "Well, it is true that I have a big family. But during the holidays we seem to get away from all the drama!"

"_Riighht. So anyway it's time to jet. I'll go get the others and we'll meet you in front of HachiPoli in 20!"_

"Okay, Ran. Goodbye!"

Aya hung up the phone and couldn't help but to crack a smile. Ran was definitely pretty stressful to be friends with, but she was just so filled with life and radiance that it was impossible to feel gloomy when around her. Thinking back, being introduced to so many new people was so overwhelming at first. But seeing the loyal and true friends she had made her realize how special they all were, and that she never wanted to let them go. Everyday was a new, fun experience, and here she was today creating another one.

Ending her little contemplation moment, Aya went in her bathroom and continued getting dressed. After, she looked in the mirror and was pretty satisfied at what she saw. The sweater looked perfect with the maroon colored tank top, and she had to admit she liked the whole "jeans tucked under the boots" look. Even though her hair was put up in a high ponytail, the hair tie she used was incredibly small so she had a feeling that it was going to snap any moment.

"Let's just pray it'll hold up," she said to herself. Looking at the clock, she had twelve more minutes to get to HachiPoli. She hurried and grabbed her bag along with her cell and rushed down the stairs. Unfortunately running and not paying attention to where you're going is not such a smart thing to do, for Aya missed a step and began sliding her tooshy down each individual step.

"AAAAAHH!"

She landed on her but with a loud "THUMP" and started massaging the bruised area.

"Ow, that hurts! How clumsy can I get?"

While rubbing her butt her hands came across something sticky (okay, for all you pervs out there, it's NOT what you think it is). She picked it off and examined the yellow piece of paper: a sticky note! She read the tiny cursive handwriting on the note.

_Sweaty-poo, make sure you put the roast in the oven at 350 degrees as soon as we leave. Please don't forget, darling dear! _

"Oh, crap! I completely forgot! The note my mother left me when I woke up this morning!"

Consumed in major stress, Aya ran in the kitchen in super flashy speed (forgetting the pain in her derriere).

"Now where in the world is that roast?" She got a brain freeze and began looking everywhere but the most obvious place: the freezer. Remembering that, she and pulled it out. Unfortunately, it was frozen solid.

"Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no! This is going to take me forever to unthaw, and I have to meet Ran and the others in," she looked at the grandfather clock visible in her living room, "five minutes, and it takes ten minutes for this darn chicken to unthaw! This is definitely not my day so far!"

In a major fret, Aya grabbed her cell from her bag, dialed Ran's number, and wedged the phone between her ear and shoulder. After three and a half consecutive tones, Ran picked up.

"_Aya? Man where are you? Ototchi's waiting for you underneath Hachi's mistletoe!" A quiet "Shut up, Kotobuki" could be heard in the distance. _

If it was not for Aya's one hand holding a dead frozen chicken's leg and the other hand measuring water temperature, she would have covered her cheeks to hide an immense blush that rose to them.

"C—come on, Ran… Look, I'm terribly sorry, but the reason I called is to tell you and the others that I can't make it."

"_WHAAAAT!?"_ Aya winced and threw up the half-defrosted turkey in the air for Ran screamed right in her ear.

"Ran, please calm down!"

"_What d'ya mean you can't make it? We haven't seen you in over a week and it's Christmas Eve! Do you like hurting your friends, Aya? 'Cause that's what you're doing, your HURTING US AYA!!!" _

Aya puffed out a deep breath and leaned against her kitchen counter. The chicken roast was now defrosting. Usually she learned to ignore Ran's little tantrums, but her heart, too, sank for she really wanted to enjoy the time she had with her friends, especially Otohata, who's been busy with the holiday rush at his job so he also couldn't talk to Aya or the others in the past couple of days. Times like these, when she had to put aside fun and laughter to do things that were dull yet necessary, made her think that she was destined to be living a solitary disappointing lifestyle for the rest of her life.

"I'm terribly sorry, but before my parents left my mother asked me to put the chicken for the roast teriyaki in the oven, and I'm just now getting to it---"

"_HOLD UP!"_ shouted Ran from the other side of the receiver. Once again Aya threw the phone up in the air because of the whole ear-throbbing thing. She grabbed it again, wondering what the reason for Ran's change in tone was.

"_Did you just say 'roast teriyaki'?"_

"Um, yeah, we make it for every holiday season."

After that, Aya could hear Ran faintly talking to her older brother, Yamato.

"_Did you hear that, Bro? ROAST TERIYAKI! Man, Mom hasn't cooked that in three years!"_

There was an awkward silence for a bit (or maybe Ran just had the phone away), but then she came back on the receiver.

"_Say, Aya, what else did you cook?"_

"Let's see… We have fried chicken thighs, sushi cakes, fried potato, fried wonton, takoyaki (fried octopus balls), oh--and of course the traditional Christmas cake!"

"_YUM! YUM! YUM!"_

"Huh?"

"_Okay, Aya, seeing as how your voice is soooo desperate for our company, I guess we can put aside our day of Christmas Eve-y fun to hang at your place with you and your awesome food!" _

Aya froze and almost dropped her cell. Did she just say "come over"? Just then the voice of her overbearing father rang loudly in her ear.

"_You better be in this house hooligan-free by the time we get back!" _Other quotes such as "Hell will freeze over before I let those wild cats anywhere near my home," and "If I had a dime for every time I say no to those rascals stepping a foot in this door, I'd be one rich man," made her think that everyone coming would not be such a good idea. She gripped the phone in nervousness and tried to talk Ran out of her proposal.

"Um, Ran, I don't think that's a very good idea. You, see, my father's not a big fan of my hooligan friends—I mean other kids in the house, especially while no one's here."

"_Oh, come on, Aya. It's not like we're 'Children of the Corn' or anything, and besides, Big Bro makes one legal responsible boring adult, so everything's solid!"_

"Yeah, but—" Aya's resistance was futile because Ran kept on insisting that she and the others come.

"_You keep on talking but all I'm hearing is blah blah blether blether blether. We'll be there in ten, bye!" _

RAN PARA PARA BREAK!

Before she could refuse one more time, Ran hung up the phone. In a sulk, Aya basted the chicken with teriyaki sauce and popped it in the oven. She slipped off oven mitts and slid down her kitchen floor, pulling her knees to her chin with a pout.

"Great, now I have to entertain the others when my house is the definition of 'anti-teenager'. It's just my luck."

Before she could lift her head up, she heard a loud BANG coming in from her forum and footsteps walking over something hard and wooden.

"Man, Aya, your place is decked out with Christmas decorations! Where are we, the North Pole? Aya? Aaayyyaaa???"

The red-streak gal stood valiantly over a broken front door with four teens (+ Yamato) performing the classic anime group fall. Apparently, Ran did not know the proper function of a door-bell or just a simple knock; apparently knocking down someone's door with your white platform heel worked just as good. (--')

Automatically knowing who arrived at the door, she ran into the hallway and lightly shrieked at what she saw.

"Ran! What did you do to my door!? Daddy's gonna have a heart attack!?"

It took a while for Ran to realize what she just did. She looked down beneath her red overcoat and sweat-dropped at what was underneath her.

"Oops! Sorry 'bout that. Good thing it's the holidays right? A time to forgive and forget!"

Yamato then pushed Ran aside to save her from any more of a pathetic excuse of an apology and warmly greeted Aya. This was one of the kind-of-rare moments when he was not in his police uniform. Instead he wore a simple dark red v-neck sweater over a white turtleneck (something Miyu thought was perfect for her Yamato-kun and decided to buy it for him).

"Hello, Aya. Please excuse my brainless sister. If it's too much of a burden to you, we can all go."

Aya's moral side grabbed a hold of her and she smiled genuinely at her friends.

"Oh, don't worry about it, all of you. It's the holidays, and besides, it'll be awesome to spend some time together. I'm just sorry it had to be here at my boring house." She then began to take everyone's coat and everyone exchanged friendly greetings. Besides Ran and Yamato, Tatsukichi, Miyu, Yuya, Mami, and of course Rei, were also there. For a moment, Rei kind of felt out of place, but as soon as he saw Aya coming toward him, he lightly smiled. Catching the warm gesture, Aya blushed and hesitantly grabbed for his black jacket. One was about to speak to the other until the cry of an overexcited monkey and his tamer could be heard from the kitchen.

"Look at all the food!" cried Ran.

"Ook! You really outdid yourself, Aya-ppe! This crib smells as good my big man's ramen shop!"

"Forget ramen! I want a taste of these octopus balls!"

"Ran-pyon, are you saying you don't like my ramen, mou?"

"Oh, monkey boy, who can think about ramen when there's a whole warehouse of fried goodness in my reach!?"

"Oh! You got me! I felt it! I felt the hot knife go in me just now! Ran-pyon no longer cares for my ramen! I'm losing you! Please don't tell me I'm losing you to fried goodness!"

"Come on, Tatsukichi, you know you and your family's ramen is always number one in my stomach!"

"Ook!"

TATSUKICHI PARA PARA BREAK!

Aya lightly giggled at the couple's routine gibbering. Ran and Tatsukichi were probably the definition of the world's most adorable, idiotic couple—"bakappuru" if you will. She had to admit that in the beginning she didn't know if the relationship could withstand Ran's tendency to neglect along with Tasukichi's slight insecurity problems (but then again, who was Aya to comment on insecurity problems?). The rumors that sprouted all over Shibuya two years ago about Ran and Rei's possible dating really put a strain on their ability to trust, but luckily once Ran let go of her tough, carefree exterior and realized that she was afraid of losing him, and Tatsukichi let go of his insecurities and trusted his heart, their love prevailed into the kawaii-ness that their friends and family came to know and love.

Rei noticed Aya's giggling and decided to comment on it.

"Don't encourage them. They've been at this all day."

Aya turned back to Rei and smiled. "So, how's your holiday going so far?"

Rei casually stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged at the typical question. "No complaints…at least so far."

"Well that's good to hear, well, I think…"

Rei smirked at the adorable gesture she made that consisted of her index finger rested on her chin. "From what I hear you've been busy yourself. Christmas for you must be…" he looked around inquisitively at all the dancing Santa's, holly, lights, and raised an eyebrow at the three Christmas trees in her living and dining room. "…something."

Aya blushed at all the decorations. "Well with a family full of perfectionists you're bound to expect florescent Rudolf the Reindeer lights as a minimum necessity this time of year. 'Don we now our gay apparel' is what my family always says! Man, do I sound like a complete dork or what?"

Rei couldn't suppress his chuckle. It seemed like more and more each day Aya was able to open up a little more about her life and be unafraid to poke fun at herself. Two years ago a conversation such as this would probably kill her in embarrassment, but now it barely bothered her to be made fun of her slight obsessive compulsive disorders, or her highly strict family, or her love for books and other things in the "slightly nerdy" category. This new sense of pride and courage made it so much easier to keep up an interesting conversation. It also showed a brighter warmer side to Aya just when Rei thought she couldn't be anymore brighter or warmer. It was simple yet warm times like these when he was glad he decided not to give up on her.

At that moment, Yuya and Mami could be spotted giving attention to a small sized kitten with white fur consisting of black and orange spots and an abnormally shortened tail.

"What an awesome looking cat, Aya," called Yuya.

"Why is he looking at me weird? Yuya, I'm scared," and with that comment, Mami huddled closer to her boyfriend.

Rei was slightly confused at the site and turned to Aya. "I didn't know you had a cat, Aya."

"Cat? What cat?"

Rei pointed to Yuya trying to assuage Mami of her fear by getting her to hold the kitty. She didn't decline, but her hands were shaking uncontrollably holding it in her grasp. Aya slightly shrieked at this scene and stepped closer to Rei as if subconsciously and yelled:

"Second Place, Mami-rin, that's not my cat! It's a stray!"

Everyone looked up and stopped what they were doing: Ran and Tatsukichi were guessing how much takoyaki they could fit in their mouths and Miyu and Yamato were marveling over the beautiful mini-garden Aya had in her backyard. Mami screamed, "a stray!?" and threw the cat in the air. After this, things went _straight_ downhill.

Scared and jittery, the stray sprung its legs and began pouncing on everything in sight. That included the walls, drapes, couch, cushions, windows, bookcases, etc. Everyone, too, went in frenzy and tried desperately to get the vigorous fur ball away from danger and anything that sounded or looked expensive. Well, all except for Mami who just stood quivering on the coffee table pointing to the various places it could be seen. Rei stood in the corner analyzing the whole scene before him and thought of the best approach (either indicating that he's too lazy and passive to actively help out or that he's smart enough to not chase something blindly and actually attempt to figure out the best way to obtain it).

Everyone was imitating the classic Tom and Jerry "cat and mouse" (lol, ironic) chasing scene until Aya froze and turned to her kitchen—her kitchen that was filled with 27 hour worth hard working dishes that could not afford to be apart of this charade. She yelled at Yuya and Mami who were the closest to the kitchen.

"Mami-rin, Second Place, quick, shut the doors to the kitchen!"

They were a little confused but obliged willingly and quickly slid the doors to the kitchen shut. Everyone released a gigantic sigh and flopped down on the couch.

"Ook! What a workout!"

"An annoying workout! All that running made me tired. How about some food to power me back up?"

Despite the moment of relaxation, there was still something that did not sit right. Rei was the first to point this out. He turned to Yuya.

"Hey Yuya," said Rei.

"Yeah, Rei?"

"Where exactly is the cat?"

"Hmm…well, wherever it is, it sure isn't in the kitchen."

"Funny you should mention that…"

"Why?"

"Everyone has spent at least five minutes chasing this cat all around Aya's house, yet just as the kitchen doors were shut, it's nowhere to be seen."

Yuya slowly began to understand what Rei was hinting at.

"Dude, you don't think—"

Almost immediately, the sound of banging pots and pans could be heard through the kitchen. Plates could be heard dropping, silverware could be heard shattering, and food could be heard splattering on walls.

"Oh, no! He's in the kitchen!"

Ran shot up at Aya's cry. "Which means that fur ball is in there stealing all the food!"

"Is that all you can think about is food at a time like this, Ran?" snapped Miyu who could see Aya's face drooping with each passing second.

"Uh, a DUH! He's in there having a freaking potluck and stuffing his face! Lucky bastard!"

"Ran!"

Rei glanced over at Aya and could catch a glimpse of crystal tears forming in her eyes. Wincing at the thought of seeing her cry, he spontaneously and boldly slid open the kitchen door and just as the cat lunged for him out of nowhere, without a care he casually grabbed for it and held it in his hands, leaving everyone speechless.

Aya was too astonished to let the tears continue to flow. "O…Otohata-kun…"

"So I'm guessing this doesn't belong to anyone," Rei said holding the spotted feline in the air. Suddenly it jumped out of his hands and before anyone could duck for cover, it plopped itself right on Yamato's head. The scene was truly adorable with the kitten reverting to an innocent angelic form, licking its paw and releasing a quiet purr from its chest. Miyu automatically fell in love with the cat and lightly scratched it behind its spotted ear.

"Heehee… It looks like Miyu's not the only one who adores you, Yamato-kun. Look how adorable he is!"

Yamato just sighed and sweat-drop, deciding to just accept the annoyance rather than fight against it. Everything was a lighthearted scene until slight sobbing could be heard in the kitchen. The gang followed the sound until they saw Aya crouching down on the floor next to spilled wontons now soiled in tears. She didn't mean to expose her sobs to her friends—especially Otohata—but seeing a fully cooked 27 hour Christmas multi-course meal destroyed in a matter of 27 seconds depressed her to a new level of desperation.

Mami and Miyu were the first to come to the rescue as they helped her up off the floor. Ran scanned the now painted-in-teriyaki-sauce walls.

"Man, it looks like a twister hit this place. Hey, Aya, I'm really sorry about this."

"No, no, no, no tears, Aya-ppe, we'll help you clean this pig sty to a regular sty, no doubt!" comforted Tatsukichi with a friendly pat on the back.

"B-but all the food is ruined. My parents will be home in less than three hours and all the food is ruined. I'm going to be dead in less than three hours."

"No! But if you're dead that means that you'd be like, permanently banned from super friend time, right?"

Aya drooped her head down even lower. "Uh huh…"

Just then Ran surprised everybody by jumping onto a counter top and sticking a determined fist in the air.

"Okay Aya! Then if that's the case I have no choice but to offer my, along with everyone else's services, to help you revamp this dinner!"

Aya did not believe Ran's committed offer at first. "Thanks for the thought, Ran, but we all know it'll be impossible to re-cook every dish in less than three hours."

"Hello?" then Ran pulled out her handy dandy cell phone. "That's what speed dial is for! I have here the speed dial for every single fast food, sushi bar, cattery, you-name-it, right here in my cell!"

"And for all the dishes we can't order it'll be nothing to just whip them up with the ingredients we have here," chimed in Yuya.

"Ook! This could be the perfect opportunity to bust out my Chef Kuroi outfit and experiment on the new recipes my dad gave me!"

Mami shot Aya a wink of the eye. "I guess I can pitch in, too. After all, the Hondas work best in a crisis."

Aya was speechless as she looked back at everyone (except for Rei) who was giving her energetic and loving nods of the heads and double thumbs up.

"Miyu can never turn her back on such a dear friend in need!" Miyu smiled

"You opened your home, so it's only right we help you out!" added Yamato.

Tears continue to spring from Aya's eyes, but these were tears of joy. Nothing made her feel such love and acceptance than her friends. No matter what the circumstances, no matter Aya's constant refusals, Ran and the others always stooped to bending backwards to help her in need. It was times like these when she thanked the big guy upstairs for blessing her with such loyal, dear unconditionally loving friends.

Suddenly Aya felt cotton like fabric dab at her cheeks. She crooked her head to surprisingly see Rei wiping her tears away with his handkerchief.

"You…you, too, Otohata-kun?"

He replied with a simple nod. "Only if you promise to stop crying, okay?"

In pure admiration she nodded her head in agreement and giggled like a little school girl. She felt idiotic for crying before; when around Rei she felt more comfortable showing a cheerful side.

Rei poked her slightly colored noise lightly with his index finger. "At a girl…"

Suddenly Ran and Miyu snuck up behind the two to suffocate them with a bare hug.

"Now if you two lovebirds are done with this lovey-dovey moment, we all have work to do! And let the cooking begin!"

SUPER FRIENDS FRAME!

NEXT -- 

**Well, I hope you guys like it! The next chapter should be up soon. Merry Christmas to all and good to all a good night! **


	2. Friend KawaiinessCalm Before the Storm

**A/N: Hey, there again to whoever's reading. I want to give special thanks to CocozFlavoredzTea for putting this story on her alert list, sNoWaNgEl, and My Fallen Angel for reviewing. Thanks a bunch! Okay, here's chapter 2!**

**2****nd**** Street: Super Friend Kawaiiness + Don't Get Too Comfy—the Calm before the Storm**

Iru iru iru iru iru iru iru!

For every second the gang could spare, they wasted no time fixing the damages of dinner brought buy the mischievous little stray cat. Tatsukichi was extra excited to wear his iron chef wardrobe as he prepared all ramen dishes. Yuya remade the takoyaki since buying them for Ran all the time and having to work in the kitchen to repay his tab when he didn't have any money helped him see how they were done. Since Ran was banned from touching all fried foods, she was sentenced to speed dial duty and reluctantly called every bar in Shibuya. For the dishes Ran couldn't order, Mami (rather competitively) used her Honda charm and connections to pick up the slack. Aya and the other's first suggestion were to keep the cat outside while they were busy, but Miyu refused to watch the "poor little kitty suffer outside in the cold by its lonesome. After all, it is the holidays!" so while she kept it busy in the living room (since she and Yamato were the only two it responded to positively), Yamato picked up a mop and broom and began cleaning everything in sight (while randomly wearing an adorable French maid costume hehe).

Rei looked around indifferently wondering the least degrading job he could do. Usually in situations like this he would just stand in the sidelines and either dig his nose in a small pocket-sized book or fiddle with his cell phone, but he gave his word to Aya as long as she stopped crying, and seeing how she kept up her end of the bargain, it was only right that he kept up his. He thought. Neither cooking nor cleaning were listed in his resume and he wasn't really wasn't a cat person. Inspecting the kitchen, his eyes landed on the raven haired girl hovering over dirty dishes in the sink. If he wasn't mistaken, she had been struggling over the same grimy stain on a flower-print china plate for approximately five minutes. Finding the sight oddly amusing, he continued to stare as she took a sponge and drenched it in dish liquid. Squeezing the now bubbly squishy material, she attacked the stain as hard as she could. After 45 seconds she smiled triumphantly but when she rinsed the plate of its soapy surface she found the stain still there. Her smile shriveled into an adorable frown as her shoulders shrank, and she let out a defeated pout. "Darn it…stupid stain," she cursed underneath her breath. She then once again endeavored to kill the blot.

_Determined…_ Rei thought sarcastically. Looking around once more he realized there was nothing else amusing him this much (Ran and Mami-rin fighting on the countertop over Ran's cell after she threw Mami's at the wall for calling in for the Christmas cake when she was supposed to do it was a close second) so shrugging his shoulders he walked over to Aya.

"Victory!" Aya yelled for she finally removed that pesky stain from its unwanted resting place. She saw Rei coming toward her so wanting to gloat in her glory she held the plate up to him for him to see. He looked into the circular porcelain and decided to encourage her.

"I can see my face in it."

Aya flashed him a bright smile. "Now I know my job is complete!"

"Well, not yet, anyways," Rei pointed to the five or so remaining dishes inside the sink. "Crap, that's right…" she said and picked up a plate and began scrubbing. After a moment, she artlessly handed Rei the plate. He raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

Aya blushed lightly at his reaction and said pleadingly, "I wash; you dry. You obviously have nothing to do, and you said you'd help me as long as I stop crying and look," with one hand of rubber (rubber gloves) she pointed to her cheeks, "no tears!" As soon as she said that, however, the plate in her one hand lost security and plopped right back into the soapy sink. Water and bubbles splattered right on Aya's poor face. Rei bit his lip, hiding his small smile, and subconsciously grabbed the end of the apron she was wearing. While Aya was frozen in not only embarrassment but astonishment, he carefully wiped the bubbles from her nose, cheeks, and forehead. "No tears," he said, "but a lot of soap." His hand moved over her blush and he froze for a split second; he could actually feel the heat rise to her soft pale cheeks, which caused a tiny bit of heat to rise to his own. He saw Aya blink in confusion for his pause in action and not wanting to expose his loss of composure, he quickly let go of her apron and grabbed the plate that fell. Snatching a drying cloth that hung over the counter, he began drying. "Fine, you win, I guess."

"Th-hanks, Otohata-kun…" Aya said regaining self-control.

Rei finished up drying the plate in his hands while Aya washed another one. Passing the wet dish, both repeated the process over and over. Rei remembered brief times when his mother had to force and/or bribed him to do this chore with her. He always felt awkward hovering next to her assisting her in such a, dare he say it, _womanly_ job, and the feeling of her pruned fingers pinching his cheeks still bothered him to this day.

"Hey, look," said Aya, "'and then there was one'!" she said indicating they were on their last dish and passed it to Rei to dry. He dried it in a second and put it in the closest cabinet.

"And now there are none."

"Hehe, all dishes are clean in less than three minutes flat."

"Let me guess; a new record?"

"Yep. I guess we make a pretty good team…at dishwashing, how random," she giggled.

_Pretty good team… _Rei thought. Maybe he never realized it, or maybe he had realized it for a while but never admitted it to himself, but he and Aya _did_ make a pretty good team. Not just at intellectual or competitive challenges, but as…well…a couple. There was no doubt that their relationship started out rocky (what relationship didn't?). Every comment or suggestion Rei made towards Aya was followed by a simple "yes" or "okay" or "whatever you want to do is fine by me". She had no mind of her own, and Rei wasn't used to being with someone like that. No doubt she was beautiful, but compared to Miyu and especially Ran she had little confidence in herself. There were many times when he took the last resort and attempted to break up with her, but small moments that consisted of a simple refusal, or a hint of pride, and of course her ability to love fiercely and completely, made him smile and hold on to hope. It was a good thing he did, for with every passing day, Aya's confidence and will grew to admirable heights, and with that, so did his affection. It wasn't too long until Rei got used to Aya, and in contemplative moments like these, he realized how content he was being surrounded by her warm and loving presence.

! SUPER AYA AND REI LOVEY DOVEY MOMENT!

Rei and everyone else turned their heads when they heard the doorbell ring.

"Is that your parents?" asked Rei.

Aya glanced at the grandfather clock in the distance. "No, it shouldn't be. Adding traffic, they shouldn't be here until 20 after 1."

"FOOD!" Ran shot up and ran towards the door. Correct in her assumptions, about ten delivery cars and trucks lined Aya's driveway. She opened the door exposing ten delivery boys, specifically an acne-ridden kid about sixteen.

"Did someone order a 'strawberry deluxe Christmas cake' at this address?" he said.

Ran grabbed the cake pan from the boy's hand. "You bet your ass we did! Finally, what took you guys so damn long? We've been waiting for days!"

"My id says that you called only 45 minutes ago, and besides we're on a very tight schedule being Christmas Eve and all. That'll be 2000 yen, ma'am."

"Tatsukichi," called Ran, "you heard the man, that'll be 2000 yen!"

"I'm sorry Ran-pyon, but I spent all my hard earned cash on presents. I'm flat broke."

"Aw man, what kind of boyfriend are you?" She then called over to Yuya who finished up his 5th pan of takoyaki. "Hey, Second Place, do your buddy a favor and pay this guy 2000 yen for me, pllleeeeeaaaassseee?"

"Uh…" Just then Mami came barging in from his side and poked Ran in the chest.

"Listen, Ran, my boyfriend doesn't have pay for you a damn thing. Step aside, cheapskate!"

Mami then pulled out a faux-leopard print checkbook and signed a check for 20,000 yen. She gracefully handed it to the boy.

"This should pay for all of this food. Now everyone bring them in carefully."

Then ten delivery boys smiled. "Thanks ma'am!" they shouted together and proceeded placing every dish on the table and counters. Mami smiled triumphantly while Ran just stuck her tongue out tauntingly.

"Wait!" Everyone turned to Aya. "I just thought of something," she said. "I think my parents are going to be a little suspicious when they see labeled-brand containers from Meiko's and Co. Cattery and WacDonald's and KFC and all the other stores we got this food from; then what?"

Mami was the first to come up with a solution. She rummaged through her bag and grabbed a 1000 yen piece. She slipped it in the hand of the acne kid.

"Here's a bit more if you can do us all a favor and rip off all the labels on these packages and make it look homemade-ish."

The delivery boy glowed. "Ma'am you're one generous chick…and cute, too! I'll be glad to do this for you, pretty lady!" Mami smiled politely, but Yuya took that as a symbol to lunge in and protect his Mami-rin from the boiled-face creep. "Don't hover over her. You heard Mami-rin, start ripping off those labels." He closed by wrapping a protective arm around Mami's waist. All the girls giggled at the adorable act of boyfriend-ism from Second Place, but the delivery boy quivered when he saw how much cooler Yuya looked than him; he decided to back off. Obviously the cute (now flustered) brunette was his territory and no place for him to cross.

The delivery boys finished the task and tipped their hats as they all walked out the door.

"Once again, the great Mami Honda saves the day," Mami gloated.

"Oh, cram it!" complained Ran, "You should be thanking your loaded daddy for all that cash you got!"

Everyone sweat-dropped as they went back and forth. It was a meaningless routine everyday. When questioned, even Ran admitted that there was no point to the quarrels she'd have with Mami, it was just mindless fun. So instead of breaking them apart, the gang amusingly watched once again.

Aya smiled and slid against her wall to land her butt on the floor. "Thanks again, you all; you really helped me today. Without you guys I would be digging my grave right now. I don't know how I can repay you."

Mami and Ran stopped fighting for a second and everyone gave Aya a warm reassuring smile.

"Don't mention it!" said Ran. "Don't give thanks where thanks aren't needed. You're our super friend which means we'll do anything to see you smile! Help your friends as much as you can, that's an iron clad rule for gals!"

Aya smiled. "You're awesome Ran!"

"Tell me something I don't know!"

The gang all engaged in a classic anime laughing moment (you know those moments in an anime when a group laughs continuously for no apparent reason). There was no group of people in the world that compared to Aya's friends.

! RAN AYA AND MIYU PARA PARA BREAK!

"I bet everyone is exhausted. You can all take a break in my living room if you like," offered Aya.

"Miyu would love to sit on that wonderful looking loveseat over there, right Yamato?" Miyu gently nudged Yamato's arm and he gave her a smile and a slight color of the cheeks. With the right woman a grown man could sure make himself look like a sap.

Miyu lightly pulled Yamato over to the couch-built-for-two and shortly after the others followed. Rei, like a gentleman (0o), gave Aya his hand to help her up. Blushing by the slightest touch of his hand completely grasping onto hers, she smiled sweetly and got up. They stood in the middle of the hall for a second until Rei realized the tightness of their grip and her thumb absently caressing his knuckles; clearly Aya had no intention of letting go of his hand. It was a weird sensation for him, yet Aya just continued to flash that look of innocence which made things even more awkward. Now that he thought about it, she lately did tend to give him his space whenever he needed it, but she'd also sit closer to him (especially when alone) at times or do bolder things just like this. He blinked; Rei never thought he'd see this boldness come from her—the girl he'd look down upon for her inability to branch out but revered for her never ending capacity of love and determination. Aya tapped his hand; once again she caught him in deep thought and when his defenses were most down. Why did she always have to do that? He easily hid his muddled expression and turned around, released his hand, and headed to the living room like the others. Aya cocked her head to the side in confusion.

_Did I do something wrong? What am I saying, it's Otohata! I'll just let him have his space for a bit. _

She entered the living room and sat on the only seat left: the right cushion on the couch with Rei, only she sat at the far end, which made Rei raise his eyebrow at why she was sitting so far away. _Did I do something?_ he thought. _Maybe it was the whole hand holding thing. Oh well, she'll get out of it I guess. _

Ran was sitting on Aya's father's favorite lay-z-boy chair and became excited once she realized it could vibrate. Tatsukichi sat with her with his bottom on the head part and his feet on the arm rest. Both were being hypnotized by the awesomeness of the massaging button. As stated, Miyu and Yamato took the cream-colored love seat along with the troublemaking cat that was now sleeping quietly on Yamato's head (that kitty must love those brunette spikes of his). Finally, Yuya and Mami took embroidered satin cushions and plopped on the floor near the coffee table. All were sitting in a comfortable circle. It was silent for a moment (well, except for the sound of Ran and Tatsukichi humming) until:

"Hey, Aya," asked Yuya, "I've been looking around and I think I speak for everybody when I ask—"

"What's up with those three huge Christmas trees?" interrupted Ran suddenly. "Yeah, I know, I've been wondering about that, too."

"Yeah, us to!" chimed in everyone else.

Aya sighed. She knew it would only be a matter of time until she had to tell the story. "Well," she started and everybody gave her his/her undivided attention. "This is a tradition we've started about six—maybe seven—years ago. The first tree behind Ran and Tatsukichi is our average tree for just the three of us: my mother, my father, and me. We put our presents under there. The second tree right next to it is for other distant family members like the ones coming today. Finally, the third," she pointed to tree behind the screen in the dining room which could be viewed by their front window, "is a special tree with five toys for charity." At the end of her explanation, every one of her friends sweat-dropped for they were all thinking the same thing: only a family like Aya Hoshino's had the time/interest to think of something like that.

"Speaking of presents," said Miyu changing the subject, "Miyu already has her Secret Santa present picked out. What about the rest of you guys?"

The gang started their Secret Santa tradition about two years ago. The first December of every year they'd meet at Palm Tree and at random they'd pull out names from a bowl of fortune cookies (Miyu would put their names inside the cookies). After that, they had until Christmas day to earn money to buy that person their gift. On Christmas day, of course after spending mornings with the family (Miyu spent Christmas with the Kotobuki's) they'd all head off to Palm Tree again to exchange their gifts. It was truly fun, but the part that Aya dreaded the most is that for the past two years neither she picked Rei nor Rei picked her. Of course he'd get her a gift anyway, but it was never anything more than a couple of CDs or a book by some of her favorite authors. Getting any type of gift from Otohata meant a lot to Aya; however, she'd never get anything…special …like a dinner for two, or a promise ring or…

"Secret Santa!?" everyone turned to Ran as she yelled out the exclamation.

"Let me guess, Ran," said Yamato rather annoyed, "you didn't get your person their gift yet, did you?"

"Now dear darling brother, how could you accuse me of such a crime? There is no way I'd do what I always do which is goof off until the last minute and scramble up the best gift I can find."

"Miyu pities whoever has Ran for their Santa." Everyone could agree to that.

Yuya turned to Rei. Little did he know (at least he thought Rei didn't know), the day they picked their receivers, Rei dropped his on the floor when he tried to put it in his bag. As Yuya put it back in his bag for him he just "happened" to "accidentally" spot the name on the tiny piece of paper:

_Hoshino Aya_

As soon as everyone left that day, Yuya laughed hysterically at the juiciness of knowing what lame gift Rei would give her like he usually does. When questioned (or forced) on his weird attitude by Mami on the train to Ikebukuro, Yuya had no choice but to tell Mami and they both agreed that Rei needed to step his game up this year.

"So Rei," Yuya said rather tauntingly, "Have you got your gift ready for your _special person_?"

Attention turned to Rei and in the corner of his eye he could see Aya giving him a perplexed look. Apparently he wasn't the only one who thought Second Place was up to something.

"Well," began Rei making sure not to give him the satisfaction of whatever he was up to, "I don't think I'm the one you have to worry about when you told me yourself you're having trouble finding your gift."

"So I'm not the only one? Sweet!" said Ran.

With attention adverted away from him finally, Rei was able to reflect more on the subject matter. Unlike most of his friends, Rei wasn't the type to do things the last minute; his gift for Aya was already bought and packaged, but even his conscience had to admit that what he bought for her maybe wasn't enough. Being around her for over two years made him learn a lot about her, and the little things he found out helped him decide on his gifts. For example, whenever she entered his record store (whenever she wasn't just looking for an excuse to talk to him), she wandered around the J-pop section and always landed her eyes on Hikaru Utada. That gave him the idea to buy her the CDs. The first Christmas they spent together she dropped a fine notice on the floor from the library stating that a certain book was borrowed 15 times and was overdue for about the fourth time; that gave him the idea to pay her fine along with buying her the book online all the way from Canada. The look on her face was always a look of sincere gratitude, but he could never escape the thought of her wanting more. Unfortunately that was all he did; think—never acting on it. Maybe this year would be different, maybe…maybe not.

The gangs laughing and chattering died down when they heard the fast paste polyphonic para para ringtone of someone's cell. All the girls checked their phones.

"Not me," said Miyu.

"Not me," said Mami.

"Not me, either," said Ran.

"It's me," declared Aya. She gulped when she checked her caller ID:

_Daddy_

Nervously, she let her thumb click the answer button. She motioned for everyone to stay quiet, and no one disobeyed.

"H-hello, Daddy?"

"_Aya, we'll be home in about five minutes. Unfortunately there's been a little shortage of family members because SOME of us would rather visit Uncle HIRO'S in Aomori."_

Aya puffed, praying that her father would not go on his rant about his older brother. Her father and Uncle Hiro were always in competition with each other since they were in their mid-teens. For the past couple of years the family thought it was over but was proved wrong when Hiro and his wife bought a huge house in Aomori about eight months ago. It was the perfect home to host parties—such as Christmas parties, for example—and all the family members begged to have the get-together there, but her father went on a rampage and accused Uncle Hiro of breaking family tradition. He threatened the others that if they were so excited about Hiro's wonderful house then they could forget about coming to theirs, and to his surprise they went.

"Really? Then who's coming?"

"_Fortunately your mother's side of the family is still loyal along with Grandpa Mikoto. I expect everything to be in tiptop condition when we get there, right?"_

"Uh…"

"_Aya…? Everything is in tiptop condition, right?"_

"Well…now that you mention it, we do have some guests—"

"_By guests you better mean the plumber who has to fix the downstairs bathroom."_

"Well, not exactly."

"…_Then who?"_

Aya winced for she knew the tone her father was using was not a happy one.

"M-my…f-friends…"

"NANI!?"

Everyone in the room covered their ears; even they could hear the vehemence of her dad's yell.

Aya pulled the phone back to her ear after holding it away due to safety purposes. "Well, you see…I needed some work finished around the house, so I decided not to go out! But when I called Ran and the others to tell them the news, they _insisted_ they help me with my problem. They were _really_ there for me so I just let them rest on the couch for a while after they were done working _soooo_ hard." She gave a supporting nod to her friends and they gave one back; Aya really knew how to make them look good.

"_I don't care what they were doing! You deliberately disobeyed me! Aya, I can't believe you would—" _

Aya paused in confusion. The sound of rustling and turbulence could be heard through the phone. She could have sworn she heard someone yell "Kaji, remember your blood pressure!" After about five minutes the voice of her mother came on the phone.

"_Sweetie, it's me. Don't worry about your father, he's just a little stressed out about this car ride and the 'Hiro' business. If your friends did help you out I guess they could stay for a couple more hours to meet the family. We'll be home…well, what do you know, we're pulling up now!" _

"WHAT!?" But it was too late; the closing of car doors and the clacking of feet against the front steps could be heard. Aya gulped and slowly put down her phone in despair.

"Guys," she said rather gloomily, "I have good news and bad news."

Everyone, even Rei, looked concerned. "What's the good news?" They asked simultaneously.

"You get to meet my family."

"What's the bad news?" they asked again.

"…You get to meet my family."

**---NEXT+**

**A/N: Well, I hope this chapter was satisfying because to be honest, I wanted to get sooo much farther into the storyline. Unfortunately I started school this week and I have major homework to do. If my updates become further apart then I'm terribly sorry. Just please don't lose faith because I have so many awesome ideas for this story. Thank you so much to whose reading! Ja ne! **


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